Invalid&#39;s walking-chair.



U ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

JAMES D. TYLER, OF SOUTH BERLIN, MASSACHUSETTS.

INVALIDS WALKING-CHAIR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 673,100, dated April 30, 1901.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JAMES D. TYLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at South Berlin, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Invalids Walking-Chairs, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a chair, or what 1 term an invalids walking-chair, and the object of my invention is to provide a chair for the use of invalids and for those who are feeble or have broken limbs to enable them to move about in the house without the assistance of other persons.

Invalids and feeble persons are not often, able to use the ordinary crutches, as they have not strength enough without the assistance of other persons to get into an erect or standing position and adjust the crutches under their arms, and even if they have the strength they are liable to become dizzy and fall, as crutches are not a very steady and sure support.

My invalids walking-chair is intended to take the place of the ordinary crutches and to do away with the use of crutches in the house, particularly in the case of invalids and feeble persons or persons with broken bones in their legs.

In my invalids walking-chair I combine a seat or resting-place for the user to occupy in a sitting position, with a back and sides and horizontal arm-rests, making a comfortable arm-chair, having two rigid and firm supports, one at each side of the chair in front of the seat, to be grasped by the hand of the user while he is in a sitting position to enable him to raise himself into an erect or standing position and to support himself in this position and to move about by drawing the chair along with him. In case of fatigue or dizziness he can fall back into the seat of the chair and be supported in a sitting position without the assistance of any person.

My invention consists in certain novel featnres of construction of myinvalids walkingchair, as will be hereinafter fully described.

The drawing is a perspective front view of an invalids walking-chair embodying my improvements.

Application filed January 2, 1901. Serial No. 41,813. (No model.)

In the accompanying drawing, 1 indicates the four legs of the chair, which are preferably straight and extended above the plane of the seat portion 2 to form the supports 1 for the two arms 3, which extend in a horizontal plane and are rigidly secured upon the tops of the supports 1. Extending between the front leg and back leg on the sides of the chair is the seat-support 4,which is rigidly secured at each end to the legs 1. The arms 3, supports 4, and front legs 1 form the two sides of the chair. The seat 2 is secured at each end to the supports 4 and isof suflicient width to accommodate the user, but is much narrower than the length of the sides of the chair. To form the back for the seat 2, four transverse rods 5 in this instance are used, extending between the two back supports 1, three secured at each end thereto and the upper one secured to the arms 3, as shown. Two upright braces 6, extending between the arms 3 and seat-supports 4 and secured at each end thereto near the front edge of the seat 2, are preferably used. A rod 7, extending between the two back legs of the chair, is also preferably used.

In my invalids walking-chair the width or depth of the seat portion is preferably a little more than one-third the length of the two sides or the full depth of the chair proper or the chair-frame, thus leaving an open space in the front part of the chair to be occupied by the user when he is in an erect or standing position.

The manner of using my chair will be readily understood by any one skilled in the art.

The user occupies the seat 2 of the chair in a sitting position, the same as in. an ordinary straight-back arm-chair. The arms 3 extend out a considerable distance beyond the seat and are in position to be grasped by the hand of the user while in a sitting position to enable him by the use of his arms to raise himself intoan erect or standing position, with his hands still grasping the arms 3 and his arms holding him in an upright position directly in front of the seat 2 and in the open space in the chair in front of the seat and between the two sides of the frame proper of the chair. He can now walk or move about by drawing the chair with him along the floor without raising it from the floor and supporting himself thereon. When fatigued, he can drop back into the seat. The chair makesa very steady and firm support and holds the user in an erect or standing position, braced on each side, so that he cannot fall.

The chair as a support gives the user confidence in his ability to move about and overcomes any sense of dizziness or fear of falling, and he can get up or sit down or move about without the assistance of any other person.

It will be understood that the details of construction of my invalids walking-chair may be varied some from what is shown in the drawing and above described, if desired.

The chair may have the seat and some of the framework upholstered. Rubber tips or casters maybe used on the ends of the legs which engage the floor. The shape and construction of the frame of the chair may be varied without departing from the principle of my invention, the essential feature of which is to make an invalids walking-chair which shall be light and at the same time strong and rigid and in which the width or depth of the seat is considerably less than the full depth of the chair, so that a space is left in front of the seat and between the sides of the chair for the user, who is supported on the arms of the chair when in an erect or standing position and enabled to move about by drawing the chair which supports him along the floor with him.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an invalids walking-chair, the chairframe having a seat of less width or depth than the depth of the chair-frame, said frame providing an open space between the front of the seat and the front ends of the frame and between the extended sides of the frame which serve as a support for the user.

2. An invalids walking-chair comprising side frames and aseat thereon, the side frames of the chair being extended beyond the seat to provide an open unobstructed space from the seat to the front of the frame and serve as a support for the user.

3. In an invalids walking-chair, the combination with the four legs, and the sides having horizontal arms and open front, and the back, of a seat narrower than the length of the sides between the front and back legs, substantially as shown and described.

4. An invalids walking-chair comprising front and back legs, seat-supports, arms sustained by said front and back legs, and a seat of less depth than the distance between the front and back legs to provide an open space from the seat to the front of the frame, the arms between the front and back legs constituting supports for an invalid.

JAMES D. TYLER. i Witnesses:

J. C. DEWEY, M. I-IAAS. 

